Illuminating device.



\ y W. s. TRAILL;

ILLUMINATING DEVIGE.

APPLICATION FILED DBO.12, 1902.

PATENTED APR.14,1903.

21b MODEL.

UNITE STATES ATENT Fries.

WALTER SINCLAIR TRAILIQOF LONDON, ENGLAND.

VILLUMINATING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 725,514, dated April 14, 1903. Application filed Deceniber l2, 19oz. $erial No. 134,996. (No model.)

To ail whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER SINCLAIR TRAILL, a subject of the King of England, residing at London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Illuminating Devices; and I do'herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and

to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention has relation to illuminating devices, and more particularly-to lamps in which hydrocarbons are used as the illumi-- may be of any desired form according to the uses made of the lamp. L

In Fig. 1 I have'shown a font adapted for use in vehicle or hand lanterns, and in Fig.'

2 I have shown a lamp for use as a night-light,

a indicating the font, and 6 its cover, which is shown in Fig. 1 as provided with a wicktube 19', while in Fig. 2 the cover of the font is simply provided with an axial aperture 6 for the passage of the wick c. The coverin case of vehicle-lamps or hand-lanterns or larger hand-lamps may be removably connected to the font, so that access may be had to the interior. The font Ct contains a non-combustible absorbent, which may be any substance sufliciently porous to absorb petroleum and hold it in its pores, and I have found that common salt possesses the required property, while at the same time it enhances the brilliancy of the flame. The font a may simply be packed with sufficiently-fine salt, or the latter may be molded into blocks that fit the font as accurately as possible, so as to prevent any considerable body of oil from collecting at any one point, especially in the vicinity of the flame.

In hand or table lamps the font may be provided withagallery for a chimney; but when used for vehicle or hand lanterns or for night-lights I dispense with this.

The wick 0 to be used in my lamps is preferably made of an incombustible material, as.

comes more or less offensive to many persons "and especially to sick people. To avoid this, I have experimented in various ways and with various substances and found 1 that camphor answers the purpose best. In my experiments I have dissolved the camphor in the coal-oil before saturating the salt therewith, but found that this is impracticable, as the flame will emit too pungent an odor. I have, however, found that by incorporating the camphor in a more or less coarse granular condition with the salt 8, as shown at 0, Fig. 2, or by placinga comparatively thin layer 0 of more or less coarsely-granulated camphor on thesaline absorbent, as shown in Fig. 1, I attain the desired result. While in this condition the camphor is dissolved very slowly or gradually, so that the absorbent may be charged with hydrocarbon a great many times without renewing the supply of camphor. This is of importance in night-lights, which are very small and in which the cover a is preferably not made removable.

The saturating of the absorbent-with the liquid hydrocarbon illuminant may be efiected in any desired manner, either through a filling-aperture in the cover 0 of the font a, closable by a screw-cap, while in lamps for vehicles or night-lights the font is provided with a few apertures above its bottom, so-that the oil adhering to the lamp is wiped 0E and said lamp is ready for use. It requires, however-,but little practice to determine the quantity of oil necessary for saturating the absorbcut, so that draining off an excess of oil can be readily avoided.

These lamps can be constructed very cheaply-in fact, for a few centsas regards the night-lights and vehicle-lamps. They are absolutely safe and consume much less oil than similar lamps of usual construction.

I am aware that common salt has been used in lamps as an absorbent for hydrocarbon illuminants, and I am also aware that camphor has been used in the preparation or manufacture of so-called burning fluids wherein the camphor is held in solution and do not desire to broadly claim either the use of common salt as an absorbent for lamp-fonts or the use of camphor for increasing the brilliancy of the flame of a hydrocarbon-burner;

but

What I do claim isl. A lamp, comprising a font provided with a suitable wick-passage, an absorbent therein consisting of common salt and gum-camphor and an asbestos wick splayed and spread over the absorbent and passing through the aforesaid wick-passage, for the purpose set forth.

2. A lamp, comprising a font provided with a suitable wick-passage, an absorbent consisting of common salt and more or less coarselygranulated gum-camphor and an asbestos wick splayed and spread over the absorbent and passing through the aforesaid Wick-passage, for the purpose set forth.

3. A lamp, comprising a font provided with asuitable wick-passage, an absorbent consisting of common salt and of a layer of gum-camphor thereon, and an asbestos wick splayed and spread over the camphor and passing through the aforesaid wick-passage, for the purpose set forth.

4. As an article of manufacture, a nightlight comprising a small font provided with apertures above its bottom and with a suitable wick-passage in its upper face, an absorbent consisting of common salt and a layer of more or less coarse granular gum-camphor thereon, and an asbestos wick splayed and spread over the layer of camphor and passing through the aforesaid wiclcpassage, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as myinvention I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WALTER SINCLAIR TRAILL.

Witnesses:

GEO. M. BURRELL, H. H. Frrz. 

